Menu
“I’ve always wanted to get care for a random rash while on vacation,” said no one, ever. And yet, when venturing away from home, travelers have been known to pick up more than souvenirs.
Whether road-tripping with family or visiting friends who’ve moved away, Kaiser Permanente members are covered for urgent and emergency care.
Here are 2 ways we recently made it even easier and more convenient for our members to get care across the nation.
Virtual care available across the U.S.
Since the launch of Get Care Now on kp.org and the mobile app, our members have had 24/7 access to care from Kaiser Permanente health care professionals online or by phone in every state where Kaiser Permanente operates.
Now, our members can get virtual care from Kaiser Permanente across the United States. That’s because Kaiser Permanente now has clinicians who are licensed to deliver care in states where we do not operate.
“Get Care Now keeps our traveling members connected to their Kaiser Permanente care teams,” said Khang Nguyen, MD, assistant executive medical director, Care Transformation, Southern California Permanente Medical Group. “Our clinicians can access the patient’s entire medical history, ensuring our members get high-quality, personalized care wherever they go.”
More convenient in-person care
Injured or sick while traveling? Not in a state where Kaiser Permanente operates? For in-person care while away from home, members can go to any urgent or emergency care facility and file for reimbursement later.
But Kaiser Permanente wanted to make the experience easier. Effective August 1, 2022, Kaiser Permanente members with HMO (health maintenance organization) or EPO (exclusive provider organization) plans can visit a Cigna PPO* (preferred provider organization) Network provider for urgent or emergency care outside Kaiser Permanente states without paying on-site.
Through this new collaboration, eligible members get the care they need and receive a bill later from Cigna for their regular copay or other cost share.
“This new collaboration gives our members another option to get the high-quality care they need, wherever they are,” said Arthur Southam, MD, executive vice president of health plan operations for Kaiser Permanente. “It gives them greater confidence that if they get sick or are injured while away from home, they will have access to great care.”
If it’s more convenient, members can still opt to go to any urgent or emergency care facility while traveling and submit a claim to Kaiser Permanente for reimbursement.
Visit kp.org/travel to learn more about our members’ easy, convenient options to get care when, where, and how they want it.
*The Cigna PPO Network refers to the health care providers (doctors, hospitals, specialists) contracted as part of the Cigna PPO for Shared Administration.
The Cigna PPO Network is not available to HMO and EPO members enrolled in coverage issued by Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington Options, Inc.
Cigna is an independent company and not affiliated with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., and its subsidiary health plans. Access to the Cigna PPO Network is available through Cigna’s contractual relationship with the Kaiser Permanente health plans. The Cigna PPO Network is provided exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company. The Cigna name, logo, and other Cigna marks are owned by Cigna Intellectual Property, Inc.